The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1887-11-03


created, and to it were given thousands and
tens of thousands of acres of what were called
abandoned lands down there, although they
were not abandoned at all, unless kill
ing man makes him abandon his farm so
that his wife and children may have no inter-
est in it. (Applause). In addition to this,
Congress made appropriations for that Freed
mans Bureau, amounting to millions upon
millions of dollars, and clothed it with powers
that never, within all my reading, have met
within the history of any country on the
globe. Why, under that law, no white man
could employ colored laborer in the south
with any security whatever that the contract
would be fulfilled, or would be enforced un-
less it had the appreciation and endorsement
of one of these superintendents of the Freed
mans Bureau, or of one of these military
commanders, the Brigsdier Generals. So
that the cultivation of the country was taken
into the possession of so many Brigadier
Generals and so many superintendent of
the Freedmsn's Bureau. But they did not
stop there. By no manner of means did
they stop there. The south was filled with
the agents Of the Freedmans Bureau, and it
was one of the chief duties of these agents to
gather together all the male negro population
into loyal leagues, oath-bound loyal leagues,
where they were sworn never to vote for a
Democrat as long as they lived. The result
was to make the whole negro population
mass of voters of the Republican ticket, and
thereby to make in all those States in which
the negroes were in the majority, a Solid
South, voting by the hands of ignorant ne
groes, the Republican ticket, and thereby
keeping that party perpetually in power.
Now, my friends, is it wonderful that when
the white men of the south saw themselves
thus disfranchised; when they saw the heel
or felt the heel of the negro upon their
necks; when they saw all that was dear to
them. liberty, property, their wives, their
children, nay, almost their lives at the mercy
of this despotism, is it wonderful that they
did not feel much affection for the Republi-
can partyf (Applause). Would you have
embraced and loved them much if they had
done the same thing towards your I do not
think you would. 1 do not think any man
with a heart in him would And what was
the consequence? Why, when God in his
providence took the load off of them so far
that the white men were mainly enfranchised
once more, then they voted with the men of
the north, whether they were called Demo-
Gratis, Conservatives, Mugwumps, or what not
they voted with the men of the north who
had shown some justice and some compassion
in their behalf. (Applause). And so it came
to pass-ah, but before that, the south had
terrible experience. When 1 entered the
Senate of the United States, there was Sena-
tor after Senator from the south, who were
called carpet-baggers or scalawsgs; men who
had no interest in the south adventures
who had gone there and pushed their way to
fortune and to political distinction. In the
House it was the same way, and not only
that, but State after State had its State gov
ernment in their hands. An Ohio carpet
bagger was Governor of South Carolina, and
he had Legislature that you should have
seen. have seen a photograph of it.
Sixty odd of them blscker than any crow
you ever saw, and but two out of the sixty
odd who could read one word, much less
write. But what did they dof Why, these
fellows who could not read or write, each of
them voted himself private secretary, at
$500 day, to do reading and writing for
him, and that was called the Legislature of
the State. daughter and applause.) That
was the Legislature of the State of South
Carolina. Well, it was Legislature enough
to run that poor, poverty y-stricken State mil
lions upon millions into debt, for which false
and fraudulent railroad bonds were issued
until the State was in an utter condition of
bankruptcy and ruin.
Well, there was another carpet-bag or seal
lawag government in North Carolina, another
in Georgia, another in Alabama, another in
Louisiana, and another in Arkansas. The
whole country down there was kept under
the heel of military rule, and its government
composed of carpet-baggers or base men who
had deserted the interests and rights of their
own section, and who were in power until
they utterly destroyed everything like pros
perity in all the length and breadth of that
land.
Well, now, as 1 said, God in his providence
at last enabled the people down there to shake
off these incubi to shake them off and to
let the people down there, who are compe-
tent to govern, govern that region. And
forthwith. every carpet-bagger and every seal
lawag and every man who wanted Office from
the Republican party in the north set up a
tremendous howl; "See the Solid South |"
owe must trample them under foot once